Athletes, such as football, lacrosse, softball, baseball and field hockey players, play on large surface fields that are most often found in outdoor settings. Traditionally, these fields were comprised of natural grass surfaces. In the past several decades, artificial surfaces have been implemented to replace the traditional grass playing surfaces. The artificial turf surfaces have raised many concerns regarding injuries to the lower extremities, e.g., the legs, knees, ankles and toes. These artificial surfaces do not accommodate for contact between the player's body and the ground as would be found in natural surfaces.
Advances in artificial turf playing surfaces have been made to address some of these issues. For example, some artificial fields now employ “crumb rubber” and other types of filler that is spread over the field to simulate natural surfaces both aesthetically and functionally. These fillers tend to get into players' shoes and can create abrasions with the concomitant risk of infections.
During games and practices, players can get these fillers in their shoes. Once in the shoes, these fillers can cause injuries to the foot and the toes, such as blisters, torn skin, and damage to the toe nails. These types of breaches in the skin and nails can expose the players to potential infections from the life threatening microorganisms. Moreover, these fillers can cause structural injuries to the players, such as aggravating turf toe injuries, causing bone bruising and instability during play.
Products are needed that can effectively inhibit entry of these field fillers and other objects from getting into the players' shoes. Ideally, these products would cover the shoe in a protective manner as to cover the entry points of the shoe that could permit passage of debris from the playing surface into the shoe. The inventors have developed such a product that inhibits playing field debris from entering the shoes and exposing the players to health risks such as physical injury and unneeded exposure to potentially infectious microorganisms.